MANAMA: Bahrain ordered a senior Iranian diplomat to leave the island kingdom as ties between the two nations worsened and tensions rose. The Bahrain News Agency reported late Monday that Hujatullah Rahmani, the second secretary at the Iranian Embassy in Manama, was declared a persona non grata and ordered out within 72 hours. After the Iranian diplomat was booted out, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that Tehran reserves the right to take a tit-for-tat action. Mehmanparast said the expulsion was aimed at covering up internal problems in the island nation. Opposition leaders in Bahrain have repeatedly denied Iran's role in a wave of demonstrations and sit-ins demanding greater political freedoms and equal rights.